Suburban report.

Board Considers Added Impact Fees

SOUTH BARRINGTON — The South Barrington Village Board is considering a request from local school and park districts to triple the fees developers must pay to those agencies.

At a recent meeting, the Village Board instructed Development Director Bruce Trego to get proposals from at least three area land appraisers to get an opinion on the market value of undeveloped land in the village.

Under South Barrington's developer-donation ordinance, land is valued at $25,000 an acre, Trego said.

Using that formula, in lieu of land donations, developers typically pay $985 per home to the South Barrington Park District and $402 to the Barrington-based Unit School District 220.

If the land values are increased to $80,000 an acre, as suggested by Park District officials, Trego said the per-home developer donation would increase to $3,150 for parks and $1,287 for schools.

"We haven't updated our donation ordinance in six to seven years, and land values have been rising. So I think it's about time we look into it," Trego said.

The Village Board also voted to turn over $40,000 in developer donations to School District 220. The money had been collected during the last two years from Magnolia Pointe, Terra Verde and the Preserve developments, Trego said.